Ian Desmond will take the field tonight with the Nationals, his first big-league game since a torn oblique muscle landed him on the disabled list four weeks ago. He hasn’t faced any live pitching. He hasn’t appeared in any minor-league rehab games. He’s only taken batting practice and fielding drills.

But don’t try to tell the All-Star shortstop he’s not ready to return to a pennant race.

“I stuck with the routine the trainers told me to do,” Desmond said. “I’ve been feeling good. There’s no sense in dragging an extra two weeks out of it. Obviously that might have been the safe bet. But I feel good, so I’m just going to go with it.”

The Nationals officially activated Desmond off the DL prior to tonight’s game and inserted him right back in their lineup, batting sixth behind Adam LaRoche and ahead of Danny Espinosa.

To make room for their shortstop on the 25-man roster, the Nationals designated Cesar Izturis for assignment, ending the veteran infielder’s brief stay with the organization after only 10 days.Read more

New posted, of course.Well how about that? Victory lap time for that idiot 222. I have a feeling we'll here in a little while that he's accepted an assignment to Syracuse. Who wouldn't want to be back on this team in September?

blovy8, only one who would take him is Barves.Another significant move here as Davey prevailed over FO.Maybe pRAA can post my posts on this including what I wrote about Desi would be back today and it would either be TyMo or Izturis.

Yes, Davey did Ghost which is why I suspect we'll be seeing Anthony Rendon because Davey needs to get a feel for how he is going to fit in. He's not a 3 year project for minor league player development he may be very close to major league ready. And Davey probably feels he needs to know just how far away he might be now, and not next spring.

Laddie, yup. I would have gone safety first, but Davey's a risk taker, that's for sure. I hope someone will please explain the EJax/Boras thing to me. I didn't hear the interview only the comments on NI.

Section 222 said… Am I right that if something happens to Desi in the next ten days, we can pull Izturis back? If so, he's still pretty good insurance.A player can be put on revocable waivers one time per season, that's true. But many or even most of the players that get put on waivers are not DFA. I'm pretty sure the whole DFA process was put in place so that a team could get rid of a player and make a roster move to replace him immediately without having to wait the several days it could take for the process to play out. IOW, when a player gets DFA they are saying "we no longer want this guy on our 40-man roster" which would imply that they're not allowed to reverse that decision by pulling him back off waivers. I've never heard of a player getting unDFA.

Section 222 said… Ghost, don't hold your breath. I'm still waiting for him to post my posts predicting that Storen would not immediately regain his closer position when he came off the DL.As I've said repeatedly, it's not an argument or a debate, it's a discussion. There is no winner or loser. You're never going to see me coming on here, reposting stuff from the past and crowing "I was right! In your face! USA!", so likewise you should not be demanding "apologies" or "retractions" if I happen to make an incorrect prediction or express an opinion with which you happen to differ. I can't help it if you and even moreso SteveM are so insecure and have such low self esteem that you need to constantly remind everyone how great and wise you are. It would be nice though if SteveM could be less condescending in telling me I'm not allowed to express an opinion that differs from his.

I don't feel any pain losing Izturis. Heck, he might even get a 3% share of a World Series check! Peric- I don't know if I want you to be right or not about Rendon. I sure would love to see him, but really don't feel he is ready.All- the one I feel sorry for regarding call-ups is Zach Duke. I am actually in Syracuse visiting family, and we all went to the game last night to watch Duke easily dismantle the Toledo Mud Hens. I believe he is now 14-5, the AAA equivalent record as Strasburg. Eury Perez and Corey Brown raked, and Zach Walters made the defensive play of the game. Between most innings they gave prizes to people who had John Lannan's autograph in the program. Lannan must have signed at least 10. We chose a good time to go.+1/2St.

DFA==> player is removed from 40-man roster. Then the team may–a) return the player to the 40-man roster within 10 days from the date of designation, or (b) make one of the following contractual moves:Place the player on waivers (which can only be done within the first 7 days of the 10-day period)Trade the playerRelease the player

I suspect strongly that Rizzo& Co made an evaluation of the situation of all 29 other teams and their interests and roster situations before he chose this move vs someone with options, and decided it was a low risk move.

pRAA, please lighten up. When we have a "discussion," you are plenty condescending. Maybe you don't realize it, but you are. Even in this latest comment you were condescending. (My self esteem is doing just fine, thank you very much.) And remember our "discussion" about GMs blocking other GMs from picking someone up on waivers? You also know alot about baseball, and the business of baseball, and I often agree with you, learn from you, and appreciate your insights. Plus we both are STHs in the Infield Gallery, along with 308, so there's no reason we can't get along. But you're very sure of your opinions and you frequently let it be known that you don't think much of people who take the opposing side. In these two cases where we've disagreed on what would happen in the near term — on Storen/Clipp and TyMo/Izturis, you've guessed wrong and I've guessed right. I'm not proclaiming myself some uber-expert on the Nats (though I do seem to have a nice mind meld going with Davey recently). I'm certainly not demanding an apology or retraction. But maybe, just maybe, the next time there's a similar issue on the table for discussion, you won't be quite as dismissive of me or other posters who take a postion with which you disagree. I try to do this with a smile on my face. You should try that. We'll all have a lot more fun.

Peric- I don't know if I want you to be right or not about Rendon. I sure would love to see him, but really don't feel he is ready..Of course he's not ready. And neither is Harper truth be told. Davey likes to think of himself as a master chef. He wants to have all the ingredients in front of him before he creates his masterpiece. Some of them may need some additional prep. But he needs to see if it is all going to fit in the end. Davey uses his baseball acumen and intuition to make an assessment. Rendon is penciled into the starting lineup at some point … they need to see just how far away that is … Its only September, and that's the time of year you do that in major league baseball. Its not April with 162 games looming.

Again, 222, it's not an argument, it's a discussion. I agree that I state my opinions strongly, and so do you. But you don't see me recording discussions in my memory bank and re-opening them weeks or months later to point out that I was right and others were not. We do see you do that, all the time. You don't see me telling others that they are not allowed to have a differing opinion than mine, like SteveM has done with me. If you don't understand that, then I'm sorry. It's not an argument, it's a discussion. You don't get to win, no matter how much you want to.

pRAA, fine. I offered an olive branch. You rejected it. We'll continue to "discuss" I'm sure. I've been wrong plenty this year — on Desi, on LaRoche. But on this one, I was right, and you were wrong. Same with Clipp/Storen. And the next time you dismiss or ridicule my opinion on something, I will remind you of that, whether you like it or not.

222, if I express an opinion that is 180 degrees off from yours, that is not "dismissing or ridiculing" your opinion. It is stating my opinion, which I am entitled to do. Or are you like SteveM in saying I'm not allowed to have an opinion that differs from you?I haven't dismissed or ridiculed anyone here, other than peric. That's because, to be bluntly honest, he's a raving lunatic and a giant chain begging to be yanked. It's impossible not to.I would accept your olive branch had you not felt it necessary to declare victory again even as you were extending it.